As of January 1, 2012, the California Probate Code was amended to include real estate less than $150,000 in the California Small Estate process. This new rule applies retroactively to all Estates filed after January 1, 2012, no matter when the Decedent died.

Unlike the California Small Estate Affidavit Procedure, listed in California Probate Code Section 13100 – which is an affidavit-based process that is entirely free of court supervision, the process for Real Estate enumerated in this Section does require filing a Petition with the Probate Court.